PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Gene Lamont on Monday after the team lost 93 games in a season when owner Kevin McClatchy had predicted it would win 90.

	Gene Lamont had a 295-352 mark with the Pirates.

Lamont announced his own firing at a news conference. The team was expected to make a statement later Monday.

The Pirates had asked Lamont not to speak about his impending firing until after the final homestand against the Chicago Cubs and a celebration of Sunday's final last baseball game in Three Rivers Stadium.

Lamont, hired on former manager Jim Leyland's recommendation after Leyland quit in 1996 to manage the Florida Marlins, had a 295-352 record with the Pirates, never reaching the postseason. This year, the Pirates went 69-93, finishing fifth among six teams in the NL Central.

It was Pittsburgh's second 90-loss season in three years.

"I wish I could have gotten it done," Lamont said. "Maybe it's time for someone else to manage this team and maybe it's time for me to move on."

Lamont was fired by the White Sox after an 11-20 start in 1995 -- the year after Chicago made the playoffs and lost to Toronto in six games.

Lamont's first Pirates team in 1997 finished 79-83. Buoyed by a combined no-hitter by Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon, it was in the race in the weak NL Central until the final five days of the season.

But the 1998 team was 69-93 and lost 25 of its last 30 games -- the franchise's worst finish since the Eisenhower administration. The Astros pulled away from the division early in 1999, and the poor-fielding Pirates finished third.

McClatchy had said he wanted to take a winning team into the franchise's new home, PNC Park, next season. The Pirates played their last game at Three Rivers Stadium on Sunday, losing to the Chicago Cubs 10-9.

"I think '97 gave us some false hope maybe," Lamont said Monday. "I thought we would win more games, but I didn't think 90 was realistic to be honest with you."

Lamont, who received a standing ovation from fans Sunday, said he hopes to manage again.

Problems with the Pirates surfaced early in the season, when the team started 6-12. Erratic pitching and poor defense kept Pittsburgh from getting into the NL Central race throughout the year.

Lamont said the Pirates' chances for a strong finish were blown by mid-season injuries to pitchers Cordova and Jason Schmidt. He also said he chose to begin the season with Chad Hermansen in center field and Aramis Ramirez at third base to enhance the Pirates' long-term prospects.

Hermansen was sent down to the minors during the season. Ramirez was also sent down but returned to the Pirates before suffering a separated shoulder.

"We played those guys and it didn't work out," Lamont said. "But if the Pirates are going to be a playoff team they have to build from within. ... I wouldn't have done anything differently."

Lamont's contract was not extended before the season, a signal that he had to have a big year to save his job.

"Kevin (McClatchy) saved the team here and got a new park here. I don't want to make him out to be a bad guy," Lamont said. "We did not win enough games."

Pirates players, coaches and broadcasters were talking openly about Lamont's fate several days before the announcement. Base coaches Joe Jones and Jack Lind were fired in June.